Andy_Mac
932
My answer is left of field…
Jan 22, 2022,18:52 PM
…as my G.O.A.T. is most likely unbeknownst to, or relevant to, anybody but myself. It’s my grandfather, who I’ll refer to as WJM. During the First World War, he joined the Royal Flying Corps as a young man, and trained as pilot. In 1918 he was shot down over the Somme. His flying logbook is one of my most prized possessions. It’s last entry reads ‘Artillery Patrol North of Bapaume. Attacked by 17 Huns - 1 down in flames, I spun into ground, wounded’
Luckliy he survived the war, but sadly, many of his fellow squadron pilots, did not. During the thirties, he found himself in the Sudan, as a civil engineer working on irrigation using the waters of the Nile. Then WW2 happened. He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers and served the majority of his time overseas, to such an extent, that when he returned, my own father didn’t recognise him. He was in the southern part of France, when it fell, and then took a commandeered ship to Gibraltar, where he served for several years, being mentioned in despatches in 1941.
At some point he left Gibraltar, on a submarine, is my understanding, and via London found himself embedded with the Dutch resistance in Nijmegen. His role was river intelligence, to do with flood planes and Bailey Bridges should the bridges across the Waal be destroyed. I remember him telling me about his ‘nom de guerre’, and listening out for messages on the BBC. A young Dutch girl would read the river gauges for them and I think she and my grandfather still conversed after the war. He was decommissioned as a Major. I still have his army tunic, complete with oak leaves and pilots wings.
It doesn’t end there, as demobbed and looking for employment he tried unsuccessfully to join the Fleet Air Arm. Instead he was offered a position in the Admiralty and served for several years overseas once again, this time in Ceylon. Counting the Admiralty as the Navy, he had the rare distinction of a commission in all three services. I acquired the Lemania, service issued HS9, shown below, as I thought it encapsulated my grandfather’s exploits. It was issued by the admiralty, hence the Hydrograhic Standard designation. It still has the original radium dial and period Bonklip bracelet, but alas, was not his personal timepiece. I only saw him once a year, as travel was not so easy back in the day. I looked up to my father, and my father looked up to my grandfather, which is why he’s my personal G.O.A.T.
Cheers everyone 👊